Wrong Number
by abstractXromance
Summary: Sora's an ordinary boy. After making a mistake with a phone number, his life takes a turn for the unexpected. Sora x Riku side Axel x Roxas Dedicated to Melissa :P
1. Chapter 1

This is dedicated to my lovely friend Melissa. She is an amazing human being and an amazing photographer. She's helped me a lot with recent problems despite her young age, which makes her hxc. Here's to you, kid! Big heart.

This is me trying to be cute and fluffy. I'm much better at tragedies. Maybe I'll just kill Riku. Haha. Jk. So, bear with this one, and I hope it doesn't suck too badly.

Also, this here story may be a few updates long. Don't expect it to go past five chapters…And the texting portions are in non-text format. Aka: I wrote 'you' instead of 'u'. I can't write like that anywhere besides a text, and I think it would drive all of you crazy to read it.

.x.x.x…Wrong Number…x.x.x.

_You're my _[favorite _mistake._

x…X…1…X… x

A teenage boy waited patiently inside a crowded mall five days before Christmas. In front of him stood his dad arguing with a salesperson at a cell phone stand. Sora Taiyaki shook his head in disapproval. All he wanted was a new phone with a keyboard so texting wouldn't be hell. Apparently, Sora's dad wasn't pleased with his service.

Sora tapped his dad's shoulder, "I'm going to the food court." A hand brushed Sora away. Sora assumed this meant it was okay for him to leave.

He walked at a leisurely pace taking in the scenery. For how crazy the mall was on this night, Sora felt calm. In Sora's 17 years on this planet, he had hardly ever didn't feel calm. He was full of energy, but nothing had stirred his world. His body was going through the motions and didn't know what life really was.

To put it bluntly: Sora had never been in love.

High school romances are usually laughed at by those who are older. They are said to mean nothing in the large scheme of things, but Sora longed for one. He had just six months left before he was thrown away from high school's secure walls, and he had yet learned to love.

Most of the reason Sora had never found love, let alone a significant other, was due to the fact that Sora had no interest in girls. They were conniving little bitches that lied to gain affection. He wanted none of that. What he wanted had to be genuine. He assumed that genuine girls could be found in college. He assumed college changed people and made them grow up quicker. He knew this was foolish thinking, but he wanted it to be true.

Sora sat by himself at a table that seated eight surrounded by bags. They were supposed to be filled with presents for his friends, but truth be told, he didn't have very many. There was Kairi who Sora had liked for about a week in the ninth grade and now saw as his go-to person for advice on any given topic. And then there were Roxas and Axel. Sora considered the two as one entity. They had been dating since freshman year and Sora could see them one day getting married.

So, instead of his shopping bags being filled with gifts, they were filled with video games and manga—the necessary elements to keep any person teenage boy busy over Christmas break. Sora opened his book and lost himself in a new romance. He wasn't afraid to admit it: he thought gay romance was hot. But, who doesn't?

Just as the plot began to thicken, Sora's dad appeared at the table. The man dropped a new cell phone into Sora's hand and said, "There. Hope that was worth it."

Sora's blue eyes glance over his new toy. It was a Voyager. By far the sexiest phone available. He flipped it open and marveled at the full QWERTY keyboard. "Dad…you didn't have to get me this one. It's like $300…," Sora said.

"No, it's all right. Consider it an early Christmas present," his father looked around the food court. "I'm starving."

"Me too," Sora stood in order to make his way toward refreshment when he remembered something. "Hey, Dad? Where's my old phone?"

"Don't even go there," the man shook his head. "I had to give it to them. I don't know why. They were asses about the whole situation."

"How am I supposed to remember all those numbers…" his voice trailed off. He hoped he could remember Roxas' cell. He had just changed the number and it's not like Sora actually looked at the numbers as he was dialing, just the name in his contact list. "Dad, can you get me some pizza? I'm going to try to get some numbers off of Roxas."

"Sure, son," and the man went to wait in the ridiculously long line for an insanely over-priced piece of pizza.

Sora's mind raced. 'Ok,' he thought. 'I know it was the same area code…' He typed in 3-3-0. 'Hmm…I'll just text Axel. I remember his number…I think.' His fingers pressed 8-8-0-0-9-0-9. Proud of himself, he continued his text. "Hey, sexy. It's Sora. What's Roxas' number? I got a new phone and lost all my numbers," Sora laughed at the first sentence of his text. He frequently liked to mess with Axel's mind. The red head did the same to Sora. It was completely play full.

He closed his phone and waited for the reply. In the mean time, he realized the front of his new phone was a touch screen. He was amazed by all the phone could do. The device even offered him television. Just as he was about to figure out how to go online, the phone vibrated. He flipped the phone open and read the text.

"Well, I may be sexy, but I don't know Roxas, nor do I know you."

Sora looked at the phone. He was a bit confused by the response. After re-checking the number he responded, "Axel. I know it's you. Stop the nonsense. I just want to talk to Roxas."

The brunet looked around. His father had barely moved in the line. He sighed as the realization set in that he would be waiting for quite some time for his delicious pizza. It was but a minute and Sora's new phone vibrated.

"Look, Sora was it? I'm not Axel. And if you're calling Axel sexy, why do you want some other guy's number?" the text read. Sora sat in bewilderment. What was Axel talking about…

"Axel's number is 8-8-0-9-0-9-0--oh, shit…" he said out loud. He quickly texted a response. "Oh, sorry. Wrong number. Got a new phone. Sorry…" He then set out to text the real Axel and get his dignity back. Before he could send the text, he had received one back from the mystery person:

"It's no problem. But really, why do you want another guys number? You're obviously attracted to this Axel character."

Why did this person, Sora didn't even know if it was a guy or girl, want to continue humiliating him? He sighed. After texting Axel and getting no response, Sora decided to humor the texter and typed: "Roxas is my best friend. Axel is his boyfriend." He tapped his fingers on the table.

After a few minutes, his father returned with the pizza. Sora began to eat and wondered why he hadn't received a text in response. He then realized that he had not sent the mystery person something worth texting back. There wasn't a questionable or anything particularly entertaining about Sora's resonse. For some reason, he freaked. He didn't know the person, but he hated being ignored. Sora flipped open his phone and just as he began to text something, anything to the person, his phone vibrated:

"Gotcha. But you think Axel's sexy. Are you gay or something?"

Sora blinked at the statement. Sure, there had been accusations his entire life, but he had never been openly asked about his sexuality. "Not to my knowledge…" he responded. It was the honest truth.

He and his father decided it was time to vacate the mall setting. The festive music and bustling people were now quite annoying. As Sora walked to the car, he received another text.

"It's cool. My name's Riku, btw."

'So does he want to be my friend or something?' Sora thought to himself. It couldn't hurt to make a new friend, even if the friendship started because of a text meant for someone else. "Nice to 'meet' you. So, what are you up to?"

The brunet smiled and leaned back on the passenger seat. He sighed. A friend is a friend.

x…X…1.5…X…x

A tall silver-haired 18-year-old boy smiled as he read the text on his phone. His fingers quickly typed, "Nothing. My 'friends' bailed on me on a Friday night…you?"

Truth be told, Riku's only friends were Cloud and Lean, and they were probably out with each other. Like every other Friday night. It was weird, for how attractive and outgoing Riku happened to be, he only had two real friends, and they were up each other's asses.

Even if the whole conversation had been a mistake, at least Riku had found something to do on a Friday night. And really, how was texting someone you've never met any different from IMing someone you've never met?

Sora was surprised that this guy he had never met was giving him the time of day. He figured it was probably because Riku had never met him. Surely if this guy had seen how plain and average Sora was, he wouldn't think twice about responding to his texts. But luckily for Sora, Riku wasn't in the same room and happened to be just as bored. Sora smiled at this realization and texted back: "Just left the mall. It was kinda hellish. Now I'm going home and doing nothing."

Riku's pale, yet toned arm grabbed a bag of Doritos. He figured he would be at this conversation for a while. At least he hoped to be.

"The mall is always hell. You said you got a new phone. What kind?" Small talk could be a good icebreaker.

"Voyager. It's amazing. It makes my life better," Sora quickly responded. Sora had just arrived to his home and was also sitting on his couch, ready to be immersed in a long texting conversation.

"Jealous…My phone sucks ass. So…" Riku paused. He didn't know what to ask without seeming a bit stalkerish. He decided to leave the text that and sent it to Sora.

Riku Hitaki was a college freshman. He enjoyed Mountain Dew, RPGs and loud music. He was attractive, and he knew it, but hardly acted upon it. Life for the boy was fairly simple. He enjoyed it that way: on auto-pilot without a real care in the world.

He spent his days at college where he was majoring in music and fine art. Sure, the two majors were going to get him nowhere, but they were what he loved. Nights were spent at Hot Topic where the boy worked. On the rare occasion he had the day off, this being one of them, he would either play Halo/Rock Band with his friends or venture into a good role-playing game.

Tonight was especially lame. He hoped to spend the last Friday before Christmas out with his friends. All Riku wanted to do was see a movie and go out to eat like normal people, but instead, he sat at home by himself.

Sora read the text. He thought to himself what he should respond. He wante dot be interesting enough so Riku wouldn't ignore him, but every time Sora tried to think of something exciting, he was left hanging. "So? Um…how old are you? Don't think I'm a pedo or anything, but just to make sure…Oh I'm 17, btw." 'Lame,' he thought to himself. 'What else am I supposed to ask?'

Riku snickered. "18 almost 19. Care if I ask a few random questions?" There were a few things Riku wanted to know about Sora before he decided if he was worth his time.

"Go right ahead. I'm not doing anything important," Sora said. Sora felt like this conversation was the first important thing he had done all day. Axel had yet to text him back and Sora kept dying over and over in his game, so why not answer a bunch of questions from a 18-year-old who lived somewhere in the 330 area code.

The possibilities were endless. Since Riku didn't really know Sora, or had met Sora, he could ask anything without any direct retribution. Something inside of him wanted to ask personal and deep questions, but he figured he would start out with a few generic ones, "Ok. Do you like video games?" Riku figured if the kid didn't enjoy games, then he probably wasn't worth his time. A great deciding factor.

"Of course. I'm in the middle of Persona 3. You?"

And Riku was happy with the response. He could spend hours talking about video games and often did. When Cloud and Leon were over, they all would sit around and discuss the sexuality of various video game characters. It was a hot debate for the trio. "I just bought that one. Haven't started it. I'm obsessed with Rock Band at the moment."

"Oh god. Rock Band. I'm jealous. I got Guitar Hero 3, but that's it." Sora didn't mention to Riku that he could only play guitar on medium. Riku would probably laugh at him. Already, Sora was picturing Riku as some beautiful man who was good at everything. Already, Sora was thinking he wasn't good enough for him.

"Well we could always meet up and play sometime…" Riku re-read his response before sending. Realizing that he had only started to talk to Sora about 30 minutes ago, he decided to change routes. Probably not the best idea to offer a meeting this soon into the 'friendship.' "Guitar Hero is fun. I enjoy singing, though. So…what do you do for fun other than video games?"

Sora shifted uncomfortably in his chair. This is the part that he hated to admit. He loved his manga, but didn't love discussing the topic. Riku didn't know Sora, at all, but Sora didn't want the boy to hate him. Still, it would always be worse to lie. He took a deep breath in as he typed, "Well, I read a lot of manga. I write some and hang out." 'God I must sound utterly boring,' Sora thought to himself.

"What type of manga do you read?" Riku knew there were many types of manga. He also knew that girls enjoyed yaoi.

If the coffee table had been a bit closer to Sora's head, he would have bashed it on the corner. He thought to himself that he was going to be honest with this. There was not real reason not to be. "Well..umm..Don't make fun of me, okay? I read yaoi…" Sora's finger quickly hit 'sent' before he could change his mind. The nearest pillow became a shield from whatever response Riku was about to send. Sora cowered under the soft cushion. As he felt the phone vibrate he briefly considered not looking at the text and going to bed in order to ignore any awkwardness. 'New txt message' flashed on the touch screen. After about five minutes of heavy debate, Sora opened the text.

"Why would I make fun of you for something you like? I just want to know why you think you're not gay." You see, Riku was not the type to criticize. The silveret's best friends were flaming homos and he was almost positive he would travel down the same road once he found himself a partner. He enjoyed video games more than people and lived for solitude at times. Sora's liking to yaoi seemed petty compared to his own attractions.

"Hey now! I said I didn't think I was gay. I honestly don't know." Sora responded. He took the cushion that once occupied his face and place it behind his head. So he liked reading yaoi, and he thought male video game characters were sometimes more attractive than the female ones, oh ah he also wrote stories about guys hooking up. A chuckle escaped his lips. 'Wow, I do look gay. That explains a lot,' he thought.

"It's cool. But I'm going to get going. My brother's watching a movie and it looks kinda interesting." Throughout the entire conversation Riku had remained oblivious to Sephiroth's anime being played on the TV. Now that he noticed, he was being drawn in the acid-esque plot of_Paprika._

Riku's response let Sora down to say the least. The thin, frail brunet automatically thought that Riku didn't approve of his lifestyle and was finding some reason to pull away. "Ok. Have a festive night." Sora thought he sounded like a stupid teenager, but at this point, he was reluctant to care. Just as Sora was about to turn down the path of self-pity, his phone vibrated one last time.

"I'll text you tomorrow after work. Adios."

For some reason, seven words brought more joy to Sora's face than all the manga he had read that day. A smile appeared on the boy's face as he held his phone to his chest. For once, Sora felt a little wanted, a tad bit liked, and a whole lot of happiness.

x…X…2…X…x

"You WHAT?!" Axel laughed so hard, his beverage verged on exiting through his nose.

Sora's voice grew quiet as he scooted under the covers on the bed. "I…I told some stranger he was sexy thinking it was you."

"That's priceless," the redhead's laughter filled the room. "Hey, Roxas! Sora told some complete stranger he was hot!"

Roxas appeared from behind a door with gel in his hand, apparently he was trying to make his hair defy gravity. "Good one, kid. What did the guy say?"

The brunet shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "Well, actually, we talked for a while. He laughed it off. He's pretty cool—"

"Wait?!" Axel flailed. "You mean you're talking to some random guy that you met via a wrong text? That can't be safe…"

All of the sudden, Sora sat straight up, waving his hands like an idiot. "No! Riku's not some pervert. He's cool. He likes video games and Rock Band and—"

"So, you like this Ri-ku, then?" Axel snickered as he patted the boy on the back. "Way to go!"

Roxas appeared from the hallway, his hair intact. "Don't encourage him!" The blond smacked him boyfriend on the head. "Sora, be careful. Seriously, this guy could be a creep.'

Sora sat on the bed gently shaking his head. Roxas and Axel were complete opposites. Axel was obnoxious, loud and crude while Roxas was understanding and almost motherly toward Sora. They were the perfect cliché couple: complete opposites who were completely in love with each other.

"I'm just texting him!" Sora pouted. "It's not like I'm planning on _meeting_ the guy!"

"Maybe you should. Maybe a guy is just what you need," said Axel with a wink. For the complete jerk Axel could be, he really did care about Sora, it's just his comments and reactions came off a bit, well, sarcastic.

"Shut up!" Sora was now whining. He knew his friends would mess with him; they always did. He also knew they meant the best, but sometimes he wished he could be taken seriously. "I don't even know if I like boys!"

"Leave him be," Roxas rolled his eyes. "Let's just watch a movie or something until Kairi gets out of work." Roxas put in "Shaun of the Dead" and cuddled next to Axel on the bed.

Sora sat at the foot of said bed, wishing he could for once have someone to keep him warm. It's not that he didn't love his friends or the movie, he just couldn't pay attention. Just as he was about to pass on to dreamland, he felt his phone vibrate. He removed the device from his pocket expecting a text from Kairi but instead receiving a text from Riku.

"Work sucks."

Even though Riku told Sora he would text back the next day, the boy was still surprised that he actually stayed true to his word. The brunet smiled as he text back. "Yeah. Did you just get off?"

Axel saw Sora messing with his phone and tackled Sora. "Who's texting you? Who's texting you?"

"No one!" Sora pushed with everything his thin, but out of shape body could muster. "Get off of me!"

And then the phone vibrated.

Axel, who now had possession of the $349.99 phone, flipped it open and read the text out loud: "Nope, on break. I hate working in the mall. What are you up to?" The redhead's face showed boredom with Riku's response. "Wow, that was riveting."

"Give Sora his phone back," Roxas rolled his eyes. All Roxas wanted to do was watch a movie, but that would never happen as long as Axel and Sora were in the same room. He knew this, and swiftly moved on.

"Hmmm, what could I say to spicen' up this conversation," an evil grin covered Axel's face.

"Please don't…" Sora's voice turned from panic to concern. "I just started talking to the guy. I don't want him to think I'm any more of a freak than I already am."

"Too late!" Just as Sora finished his statement, Axel his send. "Man, I love having an actual keyboard to text on. Makes the process so much faster."

Sora was usually a passive person. He would let people poke fun at him and not care, but not now. He leapt from his seat at the foot of the bed and dive tackled Axel from the bed to the floor. "GIVE ME MY PHONE!!" His small fists pounded on the taller man's chest, not hard enough to do damage, just hard enough to piss the redhead off.

Roxas stood from the bed and pushed Sora off of his boyfriend. He leaned down and planted a heavy kiss on Axel's lips. At first, Axel's eyes widened, but then submitted to Roxas' request. As quickly as the kiss started, it was ended when Roxas reached his hand to Sora's. "That is the only way I can ever get what I want from him."

"Thank you!" Sora quickly flipped the phone to see the damage Axel had caused. Riku had already responded. Sora cautiously opened the text and read it to himself.

"Hot Topic up at Chapel. I'll be here until 6. Why?"

'Shit…' Sora thought to himself. Quickly, he found his sent texts. Axel had said to Riku, "Really now…How long do you work at this job at this place which I don't know of…" It could have been worse. Axel could have told Riku that Sora desperately wanted in his pants, but still, Sora didn't want Riku to think he was some pervert who just wanted Riku.

"So, what did he say?" Axel had got off the floor and placed himself behind Sora, while Roxas decided to give up and leave the room for some refreshments.

"He told me when and where he works and asked why I needed to know. What do I say to that…" The brunet could see this mystery person gradually slipping from his realm of friends.

"That's easy," Axel eased off of Sora. "Just tell him you were going to the mall with some friends and were wondering if you were at the same one…and if you're not comfortable meeting him yet, say you're at Summit or Beldin or something."

"Right…" Sora said. He didn't know if he wanted to meet Riku. All he knew about the boy was that he was 18, liked video games and worked ay Hot Topic at Chapel Hill Mall. The again, so far, what he knew about the guy he liked. All the people who worked at Hot Topic always seemed cool and pretty outgoing. Sora had many of the same interests as them. It hit Sora that he could well have met Riku. The burnet was a frequent customer of the Chapel Hill Hot Topic. That realization made Sora think less that Riku was some creepy guy and more that he was an amazing human being who wore tight pants and even tighter shirts…

Once he decided on a response he typed, "I was at Beldin with some friends. Just wondering if you were at the same mall." Despite the fact that Riku could be amazing, he didn't want to rush. He had just started talking to the guy the day before, after all.

Axel read the text as Sora wrote it. "Psht, pansy," Axel leaned back on the bed. "So, when does Kairir get out of work? I want food."

x…X…2.5…X…x

"K. I have to go back to work now, though. Talk to you later?" Riku purposefully entered the question mark. He wanted to know if Sora actually wanted to speak to him, despite the fact the boy had just asked where he worked.

The whole situation was above Riku. A random kid from the same area code texts him and the next day he wants to meet? Sounded like something out of a slasher movie. Reason told Riku that Sora was probably just a bored teenager on winter break looking for something to do. He hoped that was the case.

"Yep. Have a good day," Sora responded.

The silveret tried very hard to not analyze every text he got from Sora. Especially this one that held such little to be untold. He sighed as he walked from the food court to his place of employment. If Sora had just gone to Chapel Hill instead of Beldin, he could have potentially met the boy and have had an actual conversation with him. Of course, Riku could just _call_ Sora, but who called people these days?

The workday went by quickly. Riku truly enjoyed his minimum wage job. The people were amazing and the work was easy. If the store had paid him more, he probably would throw away his ambitions to be an artist and just work there his whole life. As the clock struck 6 p.m., Riku powered on his phone. 'One new text' flashed on his screen. He quickly opened the text and then sighed when he saw the recipient.

Sent from: Namine

Received on December 22, 2007 at 4:33 p.m.

Message:

"Want to go to a movie or something when you get out of work?"

Namine was Riku's rather persistent friend and recent ex girl friend. The two had tried dating despite Riku's confession that he probably was only interested in boys. The relationship lasted a few months until Namine wanted to take things to the next level and Riku didn't want to come within 10 yards of an undressed female.

His feet drug against the ground as he tire dot think of a polite way to say no to Namine. Riku didn't want to be around the girl. He knew she wasn't over him. As he opened the door to his car he finally came up with the perfect way to let Namine down.

"I can't. I have plans with this guy I met last night," Riku smiled at his minor white lie. In all actuality, Riku did tell Sora he would text him later. That would be quite hard to do in a movie. And who cares if they hadn't _really_ met, but they had met in some form of the word.

On the ride home, Riku thought up a bunch of different things he could ask Sora. The kid seemed pretty cool the night before, but he hardly knew anything about the boy. Thoughts of meeting Sora crossed his mind as well. He figured one day in the near future it would be nice to meet Sora.

Once inside his home, Riku pulled out his phone, ignored Namine's response, and texted Sora. "I'm finally home. So, what's up?"

Sora felt his phone vibrate. He was a bit confused as to who was texting him considering Roxas, Axel and Kairi were all with him. His eyes lit up as he read over Riku's words. His thumbs quickly typed, "I'm at Denny's with my friends. We're going Christmas shopping. How was work?"

The brunet leaned back in the booth and stared at his phone. Unfortunately, Kairi noticed Sora eyeing the communication device. She reached across the booth and grabbed the phone. With an evil grin she said, "Nope, no talking to this mystery guy when you have real friends around."

"But Kairiii…He will think I hate him!" Sora fruitlessly reached for the phone and fell short. Kairi took the phone and shoved it down her shirt.

"No, he won't! We're only going to be out a few hours. He'll understand,' she smiled. "Besides, he's just some random boy."

Riku read Sora's response. He was glad the boy had texted him back quickly. All Riku wanted to do was sit around. Texting would make the time go by faster and make him feel like he was not alone. He quickly typed back. "It was work. How are you going to Christmas shop for your friends when they are with you?"

After the text sent, Riku made his way to his room. He tossed the phone on his bed and made his way to his dresser. He chose a pair of blue and green plaid pajama pants from the drawer. After stripping down into boxers, he pulled the pant over his pale legs.

He stood in front of the mirror and looked at his body. Riku didn't work out. He didn't eat correctly. He was sleep deprived and hardly ever went outside. Yet, as he looked at his own reflection in the mirror, his body looked otherwise. Riku wasn't thin, he was healthy, somehow. He shrugged at the sight of his abs and pulled a paint-splattered hoodie over his head.

Once he was dressed, Riku picked up his cell. He expected to see a new txt, but instead only saw the time a date on his screen. It had been about 10 minutes since he had sent the last text. Riku sighed and set the phone on the nightstand and picked up a paintbrush.

On the adjacent wall hung a 5x5 foot canvas. Riku had been working on the piece for the entirety of winter break. His hands worked their magic as they spread the paint over its surface. Every few strokes, the boy would check his phone. Minutes turned into an hour. Riku gave up on Sora and immersed himself in his painting.

It bothered Riku that it had been 67 minutes since he had sent the text to Sora, but that was life. He figured Sora had found something better to do than text a stranger. Riku was pretending to do the same as he dipped his brush into black acrylic.


	2. Chapter 2

No excuses. I just suck. Sorry about that. I won't promise to do better. My life resembles a black abyss filled with classes, work at the paper and making endless designs and taking countless pictures. I apologize.

So, this chapter. Not much to say. Riku kinda gets the shaft in terms of words from his point of view. Opps.

I imagine about two or three more updates. Probably two and a mini epilogue. Woo?

x.x.x…Wrong Number…x.x.x.

_You're my _(favorite) _mistake._

x…X…3…X… x

Saturday night came and passed, almost as quickly as Sunday afternoon. Sora sat on his bed and watched the seconds tick away. It had been almost a full 24 hours since Kairi had taken his phone away from him and at least 16 since he had gotten it back in his possession. He sat on his bed, phone in hand, hoping Riku would text him. As badly as Sora wanted to text the boy, he couldn't bring himself to actually form words.

As he stared at the phone, it began to vibrate. He sighed as he realized it was only Axel calling. "Hello?" a hint of disappointment lingered in his voice.

"Hey, sexy. I'm bored, wanna watch a movie or something?" Axel said.

"Uh…well I'm kinda not up for much movement, and I really should be wrapping presents…" it wasn't that Sora didn't want to hang out with his friends, it was that Sora wanted to sit around and feel sorry for himself for a while. Sometimes he liked sulking. Sometimes he thought he was crazy.

"I'll come over there. I'm reeeally bored…"Axel's voice sounded different than usual. Usually, Axel was peppy and rambunctious, but now, he seemed a bit—calm.

"How can you be bored?" Sora found a pencil from his nightstand and twirled it in his fingers. "Isn't Roxas over or something?"

"Well, not exactly," a silence came over the conversation. "Can I just come over?"

Sora took in everything that was going on. After a few seconds of assessing the situation, he concluded that Axel needed him at the moment. Sora, who liked to feel needed, responded, "Yeah, just come up to my room. Bring _Superbad._"

"Thanks, Sora. See you soon," Axel hung up with phone without a goodbye.

Sora was getting nothing but a bad feeling from the entire situation. He knew there was a problem and he knew he would be stuck in the middle of it. His mental capacity was about full and he definitely couldn't handle his two best friends fighting.

As his mind ran through all the possible problems the couple could be having, Sora's phone vibrated. He flipped the phone open and smiled as he read:

"Did you die? I haven't heard from you since yesterday."

Finally, after hours of debating whether or not to text Riku, the decision was made for him. If only all life decisions could be made as easily. His thumbs flew over the keyboard as he typed, "Sorry. My friend stole my phone and wouldn't let me text. Long night. What's up?"

Sora, who had never got dressed that day, decided to stay in his pajamas. It was only Axel coming over. Besides, Sora now had better things to do. He turned on the stereo and sprawled out on his bed. After a glance to his phone, he concluded that he had about 15 minutes before Axel would arrive. Plenty of time to have a decent text convo with Riku.

Meanwhile, Riku was doing much the same. Sundays were his usual day off of work. He spent them with his art or a good game, but tonight Leon was coming over, without Cloud. Apparently, Cloud had taken off to New York for Christmas. Riku didn't mind. At least he would have someone to hang out with.

The silveret looked at Sora's response. He had hoped that Sora wasn't ignoring him. Riku had hoped that something like a friend stealing a phone had happened. He didn't feel like being left out. "I'm just sitting at home. No work today."

"Really? Nothing to do on your day off?" He liked talking to Riku. Even if it wasn't really "talking," Sora felt like he had a friend. He hoped one day he wouldn't feel awkward while texting Riku. Sora still felt like he was at that stage where he was interrupting Riku's existence. Then again, Riku was texting back…

"My friend Leon's coming over later. His boyfriend is in NYC or something. We'll probably play Halo." Riku's text read. Sora mentally smacked himself. Of course Riku had something to do. The guy seemed cool enough, and he had an amazing job. Sora re-read his text. He paused as he soaked in the fact that Riku had friends who were gay. His mind wondered for a moment as he realized if Riku had gay friends, there was a slight possibility Riku could be gay himself. Sora then realized it had been quite some time since he had Riku anything and quickly responded with, "Yeah, Axel's coming over. I think he's having problems with his boyfriend. I'm really not up for drama."

Riku snickered at Sora's response. The silveret remembered how his and Sora's friendship started a few days ago over a mix up with Axel. He also remembered how Sora had called this Axel character sexy. "Oh…yeah. He's the one who was sexy. Think they broke up?"

Sora shifted uncomfortably. The thought of his two best friends breaking up didn't sit well with him. "I hope to God not. I think my whole world would crumble." It would. He would explode if he had to choose between Roxas or Axel as a friend. He shook his head, pleading that they hadn't separated.

"I know the feeling. Cloud and Leon have been together for like 5 years. You know, you calling this dude sexy all the time's probably confusing the shit out of him." Sora read the words and literally laughed out loud.

"You obviously don't know Axel and I very well. Roxas and I are second cousins. He would never take me seriously. He sees me as practically family." Sora wrote to Riku.

Riku read the words. He wondered how someone could be so blind to what was going on. He had just met Sora and he had already caught on. Riku shrugged and decided it was something Sora had to figure out on his own. "Well, I hope for the best. Ready for Christmas?"

"Not in the least. Have to go to my grandma's all night tomorrow. Have to wrap until I die tonight. You?" The thought of Christmas made Sora shudder. He loved the holiday, just hated the preparations. He knew his mom would have him up all night baking and wrapping and cleaning and decorating. The prospect of Axel being here to alleviate some of the Christmas hell actually seemed quite inviting now.

"It's not a big thing around my house. We just got eat at my aunt's and that's about it." Riku wished he had plans other then working, hanging with Leon and cleaning. It seemed like that's all he could do. Here he was, almost 19, living at home with no social life. That's when Riku decided what his next text to Sora would be.

Just as Sora received Riku's text, the brunet heard Axel downstairs conversing with his mother. Sora wanted to talk to Riku, but knew if he was caught texting the boy with Axel in the room…well, it would not be a pretty sight. "Axel's here. I'll text you later."

Riku read the text and took a deep breath as he typed as quickly as he could: "Want to hang out sometime this week, maybe?"

Sora looked down at his phone and up at the approaching Axel. The brunet shoved his phone into his pocket and ran to the bathroom. He could get at least minute or two of privacy in there. He read Riku's text and smiled. Sora had wanted to meet Riku. It was kind of weird talking to someone you've never met… "Sounds good. I'll be at the mall tomorrow around 2 to shop. Is that good?" Sora had always heard that when meeting someone for the first time, one should meet them during the day at a busy place, and the mall Christmas Eve was about as busy as a place gets.

"Yes. I work until 1. Meet me at Chapel Hill in the food court. We'll work out the details later when you have time," Riku was happy to get that out there. He needed friends that didn't want in each other's pants and meeting at the mall couldn't be that bad of an idea. At least he knew people there if Sora turned out to be some creep.

"K. I have to go. Axel's here. Text you later." Sora powered off his cell. If Axel noticed the device so much and light up he would take it and ruin everything Sora had built. He exited the bathroom and walked to his room. There sat Axel on Sora's bed, except the man didn't seem like himself. He was wearing pajama pants and a hoodie that was too big for his build. His normally perfect red hair lay in shambles.

Axel looked at Sora and managed a smile, "Hey." No rude remark, no weird sentiment, nothing. Just a hello.

Sora took a seat next to his friend. "You're not ok." Sora didn't waste time questioning. He knew something was wrong.

"Wow, get right to the punch don't cha?" Axel rubbed the back of his neck. Axel saw Sora looking directly at him. The red head took a deep breath. "Roxas…broke up with me."

"What?!" Sora's voice shrieked. "I mean, why…no…Are you lying to me?" He mentally cursed Riku for even mentioning the idea of his two best friends breaking up.

Axel sprawled himself out on Sora's bed and nodded. "Yes, he broke up with me, and why," he chuckled. "Why is a whole other story."

"Well, you did ask to come over…," Sora slightly pushed Axel over so he could sit on the bed. He thought about putting a comforting arm around his friend, but he decided Axel wasn't the type for comforting arm hugs. "Axel, you guys have been dating since…I don't even remember. Something had to happen."

The redhead turned and faced Sora. His eyes looked different; they were focused on Sora. "There's been something happened, for a while now," another sigh. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, of course I do," Sora nodded. "Roxas is my cousin and you're my best friend. I'm sure I'll find out eventually, but I'm kinda wondering why you're not bawling on the floor right now. I mean I would be if it had happened to me…So yes, I really want to know."

"Just, don't think differently about me, OK?" a hint of worry lingered in his eyes.

"Of course not," Sora said.

Axel sat up and pushed himself to the edge of the bed. He let his legs hang over the side and kicked at the ground. "It's been going on for a while, like I said. I guess I never realized how much it bothered him…or how much it really meant to me." He stopped speaking.

Sora debated whether or not he should interject, but he decided to keep quiet. Axel didn't often confide in him, in fact he didn't often confide in anybody, but Sora knew this was one of those things you needed to discuss with someone close to you.

After a minute or two, Axel continued. "You know all those times I would…I guess you would say flirt with you?"

Sora froze. He suddenly knew exactly what direction this story was going in. "You don't actually…"

"Yeah," Axel was rather calm and not looking at Sora. He stared at the ground. "I mean, I didn't mean anything by it at first, but I guess Roxas thought I did. He talked to me about it before. He told me to stop, but I didn't. I was just messing around.

"Then this Riku kid came out of nowhere. I was talking to Roxas earlier about the whole thing. He kept telling me to shut up about it and it wasn't any of my business, but I couldn't stop. I was just worried about him turning out to be some pedo.

"Then Roxas kinda blew up. He said he was sick of hearing me whine about it and flirt with you. He just went off. I don't remember everything he said; it must have been a lot of built up stuff. In the end, he said that if I liked talking about you so much then I could just date you."

Axel finished. Sora sat. It was an awkward moment. Sora didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure what Axel actually thought. Did Axel like him? The idea raced through his mind. He couldn't date Axel, or not date him for a while. It would piss off Roxas. Sora stopped that train of thought and started a new one: Why the hell am I thinking about dating Axel?

The whole situation bewildered the high school senior. A few minutes ago he had never considered Axel as anything more than Roxas' boyfriend, and now, now he was considering dating him.

Before things got even more confusing, Sora had to ask, "Do you want to date me?"

Axel looked up and met Sora's eyes. He smiled. "I don't know," he said, "but I do think you're cute."

Sora shook his head and he placed it in his hands. "OK, fine. Then do you like me, I mean, as more than just friends?" He muttered something along the lines of "Roxas is going to kill me."

Axel picked up on Sora's quiet muttered. "He's not going to kill you. He said he figured out that I liked you and vice versa a while ago. He just didn't want to kid himself anymore. Oh, and yes, I do like you as more than just friends." Axel's green cat-like eyes glanced over Sora's body and he snickered. "I guess I have for a while and just didn't realize it."

"This…this isn't happening," Sora whispered.

"Oh, but it is," Axel scooted closer to Sora, only inches from the boy's thigh. "So, do you like me, as more than friends."

Sora shot up and shook his head. "No! No! No! I don't. I mean, I do like you somewhat, and you're not bad looking, but Roxas..."

Axel lifted his finger, placed it on Sora's lips and silenced the boy's words. "That's all I needed to hear, and besides, he's family. It's a rule; you can't hate a family member forever."

"But isn't it also a rule to not date an ex of a family member?" Sora asked blindly.

Axel snickered, "So, you want to date me?" He tugged at Sora's small waist and pulled him close on the bed.

"I…I didn't say that, but…" Sora didn't know how to answer the question. He thought about all the times he had fake flirted with Axel. He guess there had to be some subliminal undertone he didn't mean to throw in there, but now, now he kind of wanted to know what it would be like the actually have someone call him a cutie and mean it. "I guess we could. When you're ready. You and Roxas were together for like years…"

Axel grinned. "I'm ready now, cutie."

Axel pulled himself across the bed so that he was obscenely close to the brunet. Sora tried to scoot away. He really, honestly didn't know what he wanted for the other, but he knew that Roxas would not approve of this situation. Sora was too nice for his own good. He should have said no. He should have told Axel that he wasn't the man for him, but he didn't.

So, Axel's arm wrapped around Sora, pulling the boy in. Sora briefly tried to back up, but submitted to his fate. Axel grinned as he took his ex's cousin in to his body. He closed his eyes and his lips met Sora's.

It wasn't the best kiss. That should be known. It wasn't Sora's first kiss, which should also be known. But it was a kiss. And Sora did feel something in the kiss.

As Sora's lips willingly lingered on Axel's, the brunet thought about the possibility of many kisses in the future. He leaned in a little and enjoyed the final seconds of the brief kiss before Axel quickly broke it off.

Before Sora could question the abrupt ending Axel said, "Sorry, it's just a little weird."

"I understand," Sora said and he scooted away from the redhead.

"No, don't go," Axel pleaded as his hand went out to pull the brunet closer. "I just, I can't believe I'm saying this," he shook his head from side to side. "Maybe we need to take this slow."

Sora nodded. Axel got up from the bed and messed with the PS2. When he returned to the bed, Sora claimed his place against Axel's chest. As the opening music and credits to _Superbad_ played in the background, Sora went over the events that had just unfolded. They seemed surreal and slightly out of place, but regardless, they were the facts.

Sora's best friends had broken up. Sora's cousin's ex had admitted his attraction to the brunet. Sora proceeded to kiss said ex. Sora is now dating said ex.

And Sora also had a meeting with a man he never met tomorrow at 6 p.m.

x…X…3.5…X… x

Riku was proud of his first move to meet Sora. It had taken quite a bit of effort to hit send, but the result was what he had hoped it to be. He thought about what Sora would look like; how they would act with each other. Maybe they could shop and then play some Rockband. Riku smiled. Something told him that Sora would be a good friend.

He didn't wait for Sora's text. He knew the boy had company. Instead, Riku set up his 360 for Halo 3. Leon would be over any minute and would most likely want to kill some pixels. When Cloud was out of town, Leon always wanted to kill something.

Riku sighed as he checked the battery life on his controllers. How he longed to have someone to miss. His life seemed to be moving too quickly. It seemed like yesterday he was starting high school, and here he was half way through his second year of college.

Silver hair shook from side to side. He had to stay positive. If Riku showed the slightest sign of depression, Leon would ask for an explanation, something Riku wasn't willing to hand over. Besides, he _was_ meeting a boy tomorrow afternoon.

Riku was smiling when Leon entered the room.

"Well look at you," Leon chuckled. "Happy to see me?" Leon walked over to Riku's bed and took a seat in an over-sized chair next to it.

"Psht, you wish," Riku friendly punched Leon's shoulder. "Let's kill some pixels."

And that was it. Riku's Sunday. The two didn't talk much. It didn't bother the silveret in the least. He something preferred silence. Hours passed. Chips were consumed. Beverages inhaled. Riku wasn't aware of how late it actually was until his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Riku paused the game to read the text. "Hey. So tomorrow? How should we do this?" Riku looked at his clock. It had been five hours. Time flies when you're not paying attention.

"Aw, come on," Leon was obviously agitated by the lack of action. "Tell your boyfriend we're busy."

Riku laughed, "Where have I heard that one before? And he is not my boyfriend." Riku worked on his text back to Sora. "Well, I'll probably be there with Leon. I have silver hair. If that helps to find me in a crowd."

"Sure, sure," Leon laughed. "So, what's going on with that kid, anyway?"

"Just a friend. Still haven't met yet..." the corners of Riku's mouth formed an evil grin. "So, Leon. About tomorrow..."

Leon pushed his seat back a little, "Oh, hell no. You are not dragging me to meet some kid."

Riku laughed, "Aw, I thought you wanted me to be happy." Sora's reply finally came. "That works. I have brown hair...but I'll be with Axel. He's tall and has flaming red hair. You'll definitely see him." Riku nodded as if Sora could actually see his reaction. "Please, Leon. You have shopping to do anyway."

Leon groaned a bit, "I guess." The brunet shot Riku a serious glare, "Don't deflower him."

"Bwahahaha!" Riku clutched his stomach. "Deflower?! What are we in the 1920s?" Riku opened his eyes to be greeted with Leon's still serious persona. The silveret put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Leon, you have nothing to worry about."

After Leon nodded, Riku took the moment to text Sora back._ "_K. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Leon's over so I'll just text you when we get there tomorrow." Riku sort of winced at the idea of not talking to Sora for that long, but it would be worth it in the end.

x...X...4...X...x

The night and morning weren't important for Riku. Most of the hours were spent playing mindless, violent video games. The other short hours were spent sleeping or wrappng. 'Twas the season.

Riku pounded on the bathroom door, "Leon! Hurry up! I need to straighten my hair and we're going to be late."

Just as Riku was about to being a second wave of pounding, Leon opened the door, cell in hand. "Excuse me, love," he muttered into the phone. "Would you mind giving me some privacy? It's been days since I've seen him."

Riku pointed to his room, "Go in there. I need to get ready."

Leon sighed and walked toward the open door. Before he fully entered the room, he leaned his head out of the room. "And stop being such a woman. He's going to catch on to you."

A blush tried to form on Riku's cool skin, but failed. The straightener let off steam as it practically burnt his long, silver hair. Truth be told, he didn't need a straightener, but he liked to pretend. He flicked the switch on the device and looked at himself in the mirror.

Riku never thought he was beautiful. He never thought he was much of anything. In high school, girls gawked at him. In college, everyone ignored him. It didn't matter what form of education or work the man happened to be taking place in, the fact was, he felt alone. Friends were great, but there was always something missed.

He shook his head and tried to clear the depressing thoughts from their existence. Today would be a happy day. It had to be.

Leon, still talking on his cell to Cloud, opened the door to the food court. All around the two were busied parents, bags in hand. Cliché Christmas carols played over loud speakers. A fake tree stood firmly in the center of the court. Line stretched from each fast food restaurant.

Riku's head scanned the cafeteria for a tall red head and a brunet. They were no where to be seen. Feeling a little dejected, Riku glanced at his cell. No text. He glanced at the time. 1:50. Riku pulled Leon in the direction of the one and only open table that could seat four.

Instinctively, Leon sat across from Riku. The silveret paused for a moment. Usually, that would be OK, but he didn't want Sora to think he had to sit by him. He sighed as he crossed the table and sat by his friend.

"I miss you, too," Leon frowned a bit. "I love you." His frown receded a bit as he closed his phone. "So, where's this kid?"

Riku shook his head, "He's not a _kid._ He's 17 years old for chrissakes."

Leon waved a hand in Riku's face, "Whatever. Point is, loverboy is borderline late."

Riku's face grew a bit paler than usual as he checked the time. 1:58. He then remembered he was supposed to test Sora. The boy probably was waiting in a store or something, Riku decided. He flipped open the phone and texted frantically. "Hey. We're here. Just inside the food court. By the carousel. See you soon."

He held his breath as he waited for a response. Sure, it wouldn't be the end of the world if Sora stood him up. It wasn't like they were dating. It wasn't like Sora was gay.

The phone vibrated.

"We're walking across the parking lot. Sorry, Axel made me late."

And he commenced breathing. "They're in the parking lot."

Leon nodded and he continued his text. Those two can't go ten minutes without talking to each other, Riku thought with a tad bit of jealousy. Riku looked up from the table.

The doors opened.

A tall man with red hair passed through the doors.

His hand held a brunet's.

Riku's heart plumeted.


	3. Chapter 3

So, this is the last chapter. Sorry. I kinda sucked it up on this story. Oh well. I like how it ended. I couldn't come up with any more real conflict and I was planning on this being a short story. Anywho. Hope you enjoyed.

* * *

"Riku?" Sora's voice carried through the bustle of late shoppers.

Riku blinked remembering he was supposed to say something in response. "Sora?" he managed to place a smile on his face.

Sora's face lit up and he dropped Axel's hand as he quickened his pace. He stopped about a foot before Riku. Sora took a few seconds to take in Riku's features. Riku was taler than him, paler than him, more muscular than him, more beautiful than him. Sora nodded and turned his head to meet Axel's anxious gaze, "Told you he wasn't a 40-year-old pervert."

Riku chuckled and suddenly became very aware of just how adorable Sora was. The boy's chestnut hair stood up in all directions, his eyes were wide – an intoxicating light blue – and his smile was infectious. "Nope, just your average teenager, " Riku finally said.

Riku tried to think of something else to say, but Sora's arms were around him before he could get out one complete thought. "So good to finally meet you," the brunet smiled into Riku's chest.

The older wrapped his arms cautiously around the boy, fully aware of the glare Axel was sending. He then pushed the boy away a tad and focused on the red head, "So, you must be Axel?"

Axel nodded as he grabbed Sora's hand. Riku looked to Sora for an explanation.

"Sorry I didn't tell you, Riku," Sora smiled. "Things just sorta happened last night. It was kind of unexpected."

Riku nodded as his facial expression hardened. Leon, who had just finished sending another text, finally looked up and saw the change in Riku's appearance. Then he noticed Axel.

"Hey, didn't we go to school together at some point?" Leon asked.

Axel squinted as if the cloudy Ohio sky was breaking through the food court. "Squall Leonhart. Yeah, you were a year ahead of me in high school. I'm a senior now."

"Thought so. We had Japanese together, right?" Leon was trying hard to strike up some form of conversation that would give Riku time to compose his thoughts.

"Oh yeah," Axel's voice lifted to show a tad of interest. "You were in my group for the year." Axel nodded. "Dude, it's been a while. How goes it?"

"Good, good. Still with Cloud," Leon looked over to Riku and flashed a smiled. Leon remembered Axel's lack of attention span from class and was now fully taking advantage of it. "Hey, want to go get something to eat? Give us time to catch up?"

Axel hesitated and glanced at Sora, then to Riku. Except he glared at the silveret, nothing pleasant left in his face. Sora looked from Riku to Axel and gasped a little, understanding the look Axel was giving. He gave the redhead a hug and looked up to him with puppy dog eyes, "Go catch up with your friend. Riku and I are just going to go do the same."

Axel nodded and then kissed Sora's cheek, never taking his eyes off of Riku. "Meet me back here. I'll text you," with a hug he walked away. He turned to Leon and starting chatting about school and boyfriends.

Riku turned to Sora and then motioned to a table, "Sit. Explain."

Sora gulped. He wasn't expecting the first time he met with his texting friend would be so...intense. He sat down and explained in as few words as humanly possible what happened the day before, and now that it was out there, the whole thing kinda of confused Sora himself.

"So, Axel was jealous because you talked to me, and that pissed off Roxas, so obviously the next step is to date your cousin's long-time boyfriend?" Riku said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. He had no reason to be mad at Sora, but he did find the situation a bit ridiculous.

"Well, there's more than that. I guess I really did like him all those times I pretended to flirt," Sora shrugged and stared at Riku. Why did he have to be so beautiful? Sora shook his head. He was dating Axel now. The thought made the boy shiver.

"What was that for? Am I that repulsive?" Riku chuckled.

"Not you. Just, ugh," Sora looked down and toyed with his hands. "I wanted someone so badly..."

"...And now that you have someone it doesn't feel right?" Riku finished Sora's dangling sentence.

Sora's head shot up. His eyes widened as he nodded.

Riku sighed and put his head in his hand. Why did he have to be so good at relationship advice? Especially when he had so little experience? "Sora, ever think finding a guy attractive and flirting with him may not be the best grounds for a relationship?"

"I know, but --"

"But what, Sora?" Riku's voice was harsh. Riku had to get used to actually speaking to the brunet and not taking the time to type his responses. He paused for a moment to rethink his next statement, something easily done while texting. "I just think you jumped into something you weren't ready for, that's all."

"I've been ready to date someone for a long time," Sora said quietly. He didn't want to upset Riku again. "Why does it bother you so much what I'm going through? We barely know each other."

That last bit stung Riku, but it was the truth. "I don't know. I just see bad things happening. I don't want you to be hurt. I've seen the whole rebound thing happen so many times. But you're right. It's none of my business." Too harsh. Again. Riku sighed and let his hands fall on the table.

"I didn't mean it like that," Sora reached a hand across the table and placed it on top of Riku's. Riku's skin felt cool against his own. He suddenly had no idea what he was doing and stared blankly at Riku.

Riku cocked an eyebrow and looked at the hand that laid on top of his own and then back to Sora. He slowly turned his hand around and wrapped his fingers around Sora's. "Sora, I – "

But Riku's words were cut off. He could hear Leon's voice booming in the background. Riku figured Leon was trying to give him some form of a warning. He dropped the brunet's hand and leaned back into his seat. He got out his phone and started a text.

"Sora!" Axel's voice cut through the crowd. It made Riku twitch. "Check your phone. Has Roxas been ninja texting you?"

Sora blinked and then realized he was asked a question. He shook his head for a brief second and looked down at this phone. Sure enough, there were about 20 texts from his cousin. He quickly scrolled through them and frowned. This wasn't good. "Yeah. He wants you or me or anyone to call him."

"Thought so," Axel nodded and lifted Sora from the seat with his hand. "We should get back before he sends out a search party."

Sora looked at Axel and nodded. He turned to Riku and mustered up a smile. "It was really nice meeting you," he meant it.

Riku nodded, "Go take care of your cousin." Riku's finger hit send.

Sora opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't form a sentence. He smiled again at Riku, grabbed Axel's hand and bounced out of the mall.

Leon appeared behind Riku and put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "That poor boy is going to get crushed."

"I know," Riku groaned. He looked down at his phone once before putting it back in his pocket. "Trust me, I know."

Just as Sora hit the exit of the mall, he felt his phone vibrate. With his free hand, he looked at the text:

_I need to tell you something, well some things. -Riku._

XxxXxxXxxX

Sora spent the last of Christmas Eve at his grandma's as usual. The only difference was that Axel wasn't there. Roxas had been texting Sora to plead with his cousin to not bring the redhead to the get together. Now that Sora was here with his family, he felt even more out of place.

Sora wandered into one of his grandma's spare bedrooms. He laid down on the bed and sighed. He hadn't texted Riku back. He'd barely spoken to Axel. And he was positive Roxas would never speak to him again. How could everything been destroyed in such a short period of time?

He was flipping his phone open and close idly when Roxas made an appearance.

"Hey, Sora," Roxas stood at the door frame, unsure if he should move. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, sure," Sora sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed to make room for Roxas. He opened his mouth to speak, but Roxas shook his head.

"Look, Sora," Roxas began with a heavy sigh. "I think I might have fucked everything up."

Sora leaned forward. His cousin wasn't the one to curse. He noticed a tear forming in the blond's eye. "How so?" Sora began, even though he knew the answer to the question.

"With Axel. With you," Roxas choked back a sob. "I still love him. I thought, I thought he liked you. But as soon as I broke up with him, I thought I was just being stupid and jealous. I never really thought you liked him back. I should have known." Roxas shook his head and stared down at his hands.

"Roxas...," Sora's voice trailed off. His hand brushed away loose hairs from his cousin's face. "I didn't know I liked him until he said something about it yesterday. I would have told you if there was something else going on."

"I know," Roxas replied softly. "I'm not putting any blame on you, Sora. It's all my fault. I know how seductive he can be. I should have know if I broke up with him he would have got you."

"It was kind of random how it all happened," Sora sighed. There wasn't much else he could do at this point. "He said that you broke it off because he liked me. It got me thinking about all the fake flirting. I don't know. I just liked the idea of being liked."

"Sora," Roxas placed a hand on Sora's. "I'm not asking you to leave him. I'm just, I don't know what I'm trying to do right now. I guess I'm just trying to understand why I left him in the first place."

A long, heavy silence filled the room. Neither spoke for a solid two minutes.

"I shouldn't have broken up with him," Roxas stated.

Sora blinked, "But Axel made it sound like this was coming for a long time. He...I..." Sora shut his mouth and sulked.

"Look," it was Roxas who was now comforting Sora. "What's done is done. I don't hate you. I kinda hate him. But more importantly this was my fault. I'll take the blame. Just make yourself happy." Roxas offered a crooked smile before hugging the brunet for a moment. "Merry Christmas, Sora. I'm going to go help with dinner."

And Sora was alone. He sat cross-legged on the bed, more confused than before Roxas entered the room. He instinctively grabbed for his phone and decided now was a better time than ever to text Riku, and Axel for that matter.

First was Axel – he asked how his boyfriend was. Then Riku – he asked what his friend wanted to talk about. Sora leaned back on the bed. Everything refused to make sense.

_I'm doing ok. How's the family?_ Sora sighed. He knew Axel was really asking "How's Roxas?" Sora texted back a generic response. Now where was Riku?

XxxXxxXxxX

Riku sat at his dinning room table, alone, as usual. His parents were out at a Christmas Eve party and Leon was with his family. Riku had been invited to come along in Cloud's stead, but he politely declined. He kind of wanted to be alone anyway.

Riku tried to busy himself wrapping the few gifts he had purchased. He looked at the one he had purchased this afternoon and sighed. Would he even see Sora again? He knew it was a stupid question. Sora would want to see him. Sora was a nice guy. But could Riku see Sora without wanting to touch the boy? He shook his head and went off to his room.

His painting stood abandoned in the corner. It had been a few days since Riku felt in the mood to tackle that beast. Tonight seemed as good of a night as any to work on it. He tossed off his shirt and grabbed the rugged hoodie. He was mixing a dark green when his phone vibrated.

After wiping his hands on an old shirt, he glanced down at his phone. Sora. Only six hours later. The brunet was asking what he wanted to talk about earlier.

Earlier, Riku thought. Had he met Sora today? It felt like weeks ago. _Nothing. Don't worry about it._ Riku texted back and went on with his color mixing.

He had been working on his painting for lord knows how long when his phone began vibrating. It was a call this time, not a text as he was expecting.

"Hello?" Riku answered before looking at the caller ID.

"Hey, Riku. It's Sora," Sora was now sitting in his basement at home.

"Oh, hey," Riku's tone lightened a bit. He wasn't expecting Sora to actually call him, ever.

"You weren't answering my texts and it was getting late and I really wanted to talk to you for some reason," Sora's words were spoken quickly and running together.

Riku's eyes widened at Sora's tone. "Is everything okay? You sound distressed."

"I don't know. Things are confusing and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dumped by the morning," Sora sighed. At least he wasn't crying anymore, Sora thought to himself.

"Sora...," Riku's voice trailed off. He considered an "I told you so" but refrained. "Axel's not worth it."

"But he's a good guy. He just isn't my guy, I guess. I think I knew this when he came onto me yesterday."

"Sucks to be the rebound," Riku agreed, remembering his last couple of relationships.

"The thing is, I knew I was. I just...," Sora breathed. "I just wanted to feel wanted."

Riku felt his chest swell at the confession. It's all he ever wanted as well. "I know the feeling," he finally answered.

"Axel belongs with Roxas. Roxas is the only person I know that can handle the shit he does," Sora managed a small laugh.

"He did seem quite unruly," Riku laughed as well. The conversation paused for a second, just long enough for Riku to compose his thoughts. "So, what are your plans for tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, there's more to my lovely day," Sora sighed, again. "My mom is in the hospital."

"What?!" Riku wasn't expecting that to happen.

"Yeah, she has an infection in her arm. They think it's staph. I don't know," Sora leaned against the wall. Worst Christmas ever.

"So, how long is she going to be in there? And what about your dad?" Riku felt a sudden wave of worry run over him. He had never met Sora's parents, but he wanted them to be okay.

"They're divorced," Sora informed. "She went in right after dinner. Her arm was hurting her and it looked gross. I'm going to visit her tomorrow afternoon. She'll be in there for a few days at least."

"Want me to come over tomorrow? After you get home? We do dinner early and I don't want you to be alone on Christmas," Riku was accustomed to being alone. He could tell Sora wasn't.

"Yeah, sure," Sora grinned. "I'll text you my address."

"Okay, then," Riku picked up his brushes off the floor. "So, around 4ish good for you?"

"Prefect," Sora's phone started beeping in his ear. He groaned at the called ID that was telling him Axel was calling. "Axel's calling. I should probably answer."

"Yeah," Riku sighed for Sora. "Call me if you need someone to talk to."

"Will do. Merry Christmas, Riku."

"You, too, Sora. Bye, kid," Riku hung up the phone and said a silent prayer for Sora, hoping Axel was gentle to his dear friend.

XxxXxxXxxX

Sora woke up Christmas morning to an empty house and an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. He groaned as he crawled out of the ball he had slept in. He walked into his living room. There were no presents under his tree. His mother still put them there ever year while he was sleeping. It made Sora uneasy to not see the festively colored packages under the tree. He knew his mother was okay, but he still, it didn't feel like Christmas.

Axel had left him. Not that it was the biggest deal ever, just made Sora feel like a dejected piece of crap. He sighed. At least his cousin was happy again. Axel explained to Sora that even if he really did like Sora, he couldn't do that to Roxas any longer. Axel also informed Sora that no matter what he would love Roxas. That's probably what hurt the most – Sora knowing he could never be enough. Sora now thought of him as a mistake, a stain on Roxas and Axel's otherwise perfect relationship.

He sat down on the couch and stared at the Christmas tree. He had slept in his clothes from the family get together. He sat there, unmoving, until noon and then went off to see his mother. The visit was brief. His mom would be fine. It was staph, but would be okay. He ate some crappy hospital food and had his mom open a few gifts. They sat and talked for a few hours. Sora glanced down at his watch at some point and realized Riku was to be at his house in less than 15 minutes.

After kissing his mother goodbye, he sped home. He entered his house at 4:15. He hoped he hadn't missed Riku. Then again, the silveret hadn't texted or called the entire day. What if Riku had forgotten about him? Sora sighed and turned on the TV. _ A Christmas Story, _perfect. He sighed and laid on the couch.

About half an hour later Sora was sleeping. He had been up until God knows what time thinking.

"Sora?" a voice filled the brunet's head. "Sora? I'm coming in."

Sora turned over, positive he was still dreaming. Riku had forgotten about him.

"Sora," Riku was now chuckling. He sat down on the edge of the couch. "Wake up silly. It's Christmas."

Sora turned over and slowly opened his eyes. They widened at the sight of a very well dressed Riku. "Wait, you're here?" his voice sounded unfamiliar.

"Of course," Riku stretched out a hand and ruffled Sora's unruly hair. "Sorry I'm late. Dinner took forever."

"So that's why you're all dressed up," Sora giggled and sat up.

"Shut up," Riku frowned a little at his appearance. He was wearing a pair of dress pants and a button-down dress shirt. "Mom makes me wear this stuff to family dinners."

"Heh," Sora's mood had lightened significantly since he woke. The brunet's stomach made a rather audible noise.

"I'm taking it you have eaten anything," Riku's brow furrowed. "Well, come on. Let's go find something to eat." Riku grabbed Sora's hand and pulled the boy to a standing position.

Sora looked down at his hand. Before he realized Riku was holding it, the silveret had dropped Sora's hand and was walking to the kitchen. "There's nothing in there. My mom hasn't had time for grocery shopping."

"Hmm. Well, let's go out then," Riku flashed a smile and grabbed his coat.

"It's Christmas Day, Riku. I doubt anything is open," Sora sighed as he found a hoodie in the hall closet.

"There has to be _something _open," Riku grabbed his keys from Sora's dinning room table. "Come on," Riku held out his hand. "You need to eat."

Sora took Riku's hand. The brunet looked at the way his hand fit into Riku's. He never wanted to let go.

XxxXxxXxxX

"I told you nothing is open," Sora laughed at Riku as the silveret pulled into a gas station.

"Shh, you," Riku turned and glared playfully at Sora. "Looks like it's gas station food for the win." Riku smiled and exited the car.

Sora was trying to free himself from his seat belt when he heard his door open. Riku stood, door in hand.

"Well, are you going to get out or do I have to do that for you?" Riku chuckled.

Sora blinked. Riku had opened his door for him? "Yeah. Once sec," Sora finally freed himself from the car and stood, still staring at Riku.

"Oh, come on, Sora. You're stomach's going to start digesting your spleen at this rate." Riku's hand extended out to Sora again.

The burnet took the hand and kicked the door closed. Riku led them into the small gas station and to the deli sandwiches.

"Hope you like tuna," Riku frowned at the poor selection.

"Tuna's fine," Sora said with a smile as he picked up a half sandwich from the cooler. "Oh! Lunchables! Can I get one of these, too?"

Riku laughed at Sora's enthusiasm. "Sure. Go get some Tostitos and cheese dip, too."

Sora nodded and bounced down an aisle, returning shortly with a bag of chips and jar in hand. Sora walked over to the counter and placed down his Christmas dinner. He reached into his back pocket for his wallet, but he hand stopped moving when he saw Riku pull out a debit car.

"Riku, I can pay," Sora half-whined.

"Don't be silly," Riku said to Sora before thanking the gas station worker.

The silveret grabbed the bag of food and headed outside, Sora following close behind. Riku's hand opened the door of the car for Sora, who was staring at Riku.

"Something wrong?" Riku wondered.

"Oh," Sora got into the car. "No. Just confused."

Riku nodded and walked around the car. Once in, he pulled out the parking lot. His free hand searched for Sora's. Once he had reclaimed the brunet's hand Riku finally spoke: "About?"

"Stuff," Sora paused. His blue eyes still looking down at his hand in Riku's.

"Oh?" Riku held Sora's hand a little tighter as he drove the short distance to Sora's house.

"Mmhm," Sora responded, not about to actually say what was on his mind.

Riku sat in silence for the rest of the trip. It wasn't awkward, just quiet. He pulled into the driveway and stopped to look at Sora. "Let's go eat this wonderful feast."

Sora nodded and bounced up the stairs. Once inside, he set the table, figuring even though it was just tuna, a lunchable and chips, it was worth pretending to be a real dinner.

Riku poured a drink for Sora and handed it to the brunet. "To the end of crappy relationships and new beginnings," he said raising his glass of Mountain Dew.

Sora clinked his glass against Riku's and took a long sip. He bit into his tuna sandwich and made a face. "This is probably the worst tuna I've ever eaten in all of my life."

"It's not _that_ bad," Riku took his first bite, chewed a few times and then gaged. "Okay, maybe you were right." He put the sandwich back on the plate. "So, about that Lunchable."

Sora giggled and opened the Lunchable and bag of Tostitos. "After this, want to play RockBand or something?"

"Sounds good," Riku nodded. He took a few more chips. "We could probably move in there now if you want."

"Kay," Sora rose from the table and bounced into the living room. It was amazing how much Riku could affect his mood. He turned on the TV and PS2 before taking his seat on the couch.

"I hope you don't want to play drums. They take forever to set up and I'm not motivated," Sora said handing Riku a guitar.

"Nope," Riku took the guitar and sat beside Sora. Their bodies just barely touched. "I'm good right here," he looked to Sora and smiled.

Sora nodded with a faint blush and started the first song. He had decided on singing for the night, not that he could sing in tune to save his life. Sora was halfway through "Say it ain't so" when he couldn't take it anymore. Sure enough, he failed.

"Sorry," Sora turned to Riku and blushed. "I should have went on easy."

Riku chuckled. "It's okay. I don't really have the attention span for a video game right now anyway. Movie maybe?"

Sora looked into Riku's eyes, noticing for the first time how amazingly brilliant they were. He was lost for a moment in pools of aquamarine before he closed his mouth and nodded. "Um, _Pirates of the Caribbean _all right?" Sora waited for Riku to nod and then went to find the movie. After fumbling with the DVD case for a few seconds, he finally had it in the Playstation and pressed X.

When Sora climbed back onto the couch, he noticed Riku had changed positions. Riku was now sitting with his back against one of the arm rests while his body laid perpendicular to the TV on the couch. He motioned for Sora to come lie beside him.

Sora found himself laying next to Riku. The older had his arms wrapped around the boy's waist. Sora scooted his body back, so his back was against Riku's chest. Sora felt comfortable there. The brunet didn't really know what was going on with Riku, but he had no problem going along with it. Sora sighed a happy sigh and let his eyes close.

XxxXxxXxxX

Riku opened his eyes. The room he was in was dark except for the light of the movie, which was still playing. How long have I been asleep? Riku thought. He tried to move his arms but found them locked around Sora. He smiled and kissed the boy's neck.

"Wake up, Sora," he cooed into the brunet's ear.

Sora squirmed for a second in Riku's arms, obviously forgetting he had fallen asleep in them. "Riku?" Sora yawned. "What time is it?"

"Dunno," Riku said as he turned Sora around so he could see the boy's face. "Movie's still on, so not too late, I suppose."

"Shouldn't you be getting home soon? Family time or something?" Sora suppressed another yawn as he stuggled to keep his eyes open. It had been a long time since he'd slept so deeply.

"Nah. My family isn't around much. Usually spend holidays alone or with Leon," Riku shrugged a little. It kind of hurt him to think too much about his lack of a home life, but right now, everything seemed okay. "Being with you is a nice change."

"Glad I could be of service," Sora managed a small laugh. "We should hang out more often."

"I'd like that," Riku smiled and pulled Sora in for a long hug. He let out a deep breath, knowing he wasn't really alone anymore. A few seconds later he pushed Sora away slightly so he could see him while he spoke. "I got you something for Christmas. I'm going to go get it really quick."

"Aw, Riku," Sora's face fell. He wasn't excepting a gift. "I didn't get you anything. You'll make me feel bad."

"It's okay, Sora. You gave me somewhere to be on Christmas. That's good enough," Riku said as he got off of the couch. Riku walked to the dinning room and fished around for a light. Then he grabbed a package out form his coat pocket and laid back down beside Sora. "It wasn't expensive. More like a practical gift than anything else."

Sora looked at the present for a second. It didn't weight much and really wasn't that big. It could easily be hidden inside a coat pocket. Sora sat up a bit and started to tear at the paper. Once, he could see what the present was, he couldn't help but emit a small laugh.

"A case for my phone? Really, Riku?" Sora giggled.

"I thought it was quite fitting," Riku explained. "We met over that phone, why not try to protect it?"

Sora looked at the case and tried to understand the double meaning behind Riku's words. He grabbed his phone from his pocket. Riku helped him open the case's plastic cover and put it on Sora's phone.

"Fit's nicely," Riku was happy it was the right size.

"Yes," Sora nodded and turned the phone over in his hands. "I like it a lot. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Riku took the phone from Sora's hands and placed it on a nearby end table. "Just one more thing."

"Hmm?" Sora leaned a little closer to Riku.

"I know we haven't known each other for too long, but will you be mine?" Riku's words were quiet and spoked directly into Sora's ear.

"'Course," Sora smiled. His hand found Riku's and he laced his fingers in the others'. "I'm your's."

"Good," Riku said with a grin. Riku's other arm was around Sora and brought the brunet up to eye level. Riku leaned his head in and kissed Sora gently on the lips before he lost his reserve and pushed his lips harder against Sora's. Sora's hands tangled in Riku's hair as he parted his lips. A few heated seconds later, Riku broke the kiss and smiled into Sora's eyes. "I could get used to that."

"Me too," Sora grinned and nuzzled his cheek into Riku's chest.

Riku let out a sigh as he bugged his boyfriend. It felt good to have Sora in his arms and better to know he was no longer alone.

* * *

I gotta go, pig! I'll see you later!


End file.
